Photo courtesy/The Pontifical Mission Societies
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As we watch the crisis in Ukraine in collective horror, a few stories caught my attention. One was about a 104-year-old Jewish woman refusing to leave her city, taking refuge in her synagogue saying, "I survived the Nazis. I'll survive the Russians." Another woman, so convinced of her fellow citizen soldiers' ability to defend their homeland, offered sunflower seeds to a Russian soldier, telling him to put them in his pocket so that when he dies in battle, at least flowers will grow where he falls.
One ongoing story that sticks with me is from a young woman named Oksana, now a refugee. She writes of how quickly it happened -- within hours, making life and death decisions on the fly. After spending a night in a bunker, Oksana and friends headed to the train station. They were part of the throngs we've seen in the media trying to get out of Kyiv. They made it onto the train, not knowing where they were going.
Spontaneously, they picked a stop, got off, and shared the cost of taking a taxi to the Romanian border; the driver charged them double the usual fare. After finding themselves in a 45-mile-long traffic jam, they got out and walked to the border where they were welcomed by volunteers. Oksana constantly worries about the family she left behind.
Oksana says that until now, "I didn't know life from this side. I've worked with people who escape war. I have studied displacement and written about it. And now I live it. I hope you read how complex this choice is; how spontaneous and hard. I hope you read in my story to never, never express hate about 'those refugees coming to our home.' Trust me, I have my own home and I want to go back. But I can't."
As of this writing, about 660,000 Ukrainians have fled their country. Unfortunately, their experiences are not unique. According to the UN Refugee Agency, the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide is a staggering 82.4 million. Children below the age of 18 account for 35 million of them. One million of those children were born as refugees.
As we scramble to send aid to Ukraine, let's remember there are people in South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and other mission countries fleeing war, drought, and political unrest; they're making split second decisions to leave everything behind in search of safety. Some of them make it to our local area.
Oksana has the final word to us: "One call to action: Please support refugees where you are. Ukrainian or otherwise."
Let's remember to welcome the stranger.
- Maureen Crowley Heil is Director of Programs and Development for the Pontifical Mission Societies, Boston.